Battery Show North America: A growing focus on energy storage systems

With the growth outlook for electric vehicles (EVs) more muted than in recent years, battery materials suppliers and manufacturers are shifting focus to the energy storage systems (ESS) market, according to attendees at the Battery Show North America, held this week in Detroit, as per Chemweek.

The massive growth in AI data centers is a key driver for ESS demand, which is also supported by increasing deployment of solar and wind energy.

The ESS market “is growing more critical” for LG Energy Solution, a battery cell manufacturer, Bob Lee, president/North America at LG Energy Solution Ltd., said in an Oct. 7 keynote. ESS batteries typically use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode materials, making the sector “an opportunity” for LG, which produces LFP battery cells for ESS applications at site at Holland, Michigan.

LG invested about $1.4 billion into the site. It is “the only large-scale LFP cell producer in the US,” according to Lee. “We are shifting capacity more to ESS,” he added.

Materials suppliers have noted the shift to ESS. “There has been as lowdown in EVs, but ESS has done OK,” said Murat Gursoy, head of innovation/inorganic pigments at Lanxess AG.

“The ESS market is growing significantly,” said Adrian Steinmetz, global vice president/batteries at Orion Engineered Carbons GmbH. “It’s about grid storage, AI data centers, and also storage that’s needed for renewable energy production.”

The market is growing faster than the EV market in the US, according to Selamawit Belli, global strategic market manager at Dow Inc. “Mobility isn’t growing as fast as it had been…we are moving into ESS,” she added.

Arkema is seeing “strong traction in ESS, driven by data centers,” said Woldemar d’Ambrieres, global market manager/batteries. “It’s a growth bridge for US battery demand.”

LFP production is generally focused in China, a challenge for the mostly-LFP-based ESS market. “There is not as much Western cell production for ESS,” noted Samuel Burrow, co-founder and chief technical officer at Anaphite (Bristol, UK), an early-stage battery materials firm.

This presents supply chain challenges, particularly related to geopolitical competition and trade barriers imposed by the Trump administration. Firms such as LG have launched LFP cell production in the US, and ICL Group Ltd. broke ground on an LFP cathode active materials (CAM) plant in 2023.

ICL received a $197 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to help fund construction of the plant. It is not currently clear if the funding has been revoked by the Trump administration.

While LFP has seen growing interest in the US, China’s dominance of the technology means that LFP-based battery chemistries will inevitably rely on an import-heavy supply chain, at least for now, according to Battery Show attendees. “Some factories in the US will build LFP cells, but need to import CAM,” said Arkema’s d’Ambrieres.

Still, to the extent that materials can be supplied locally, it is an advantage, show attendees said. Orion Carbons, for example, is nearly done with an acetylene-based conductive additives in Texas. “There is a focus on local supply chains, avoiding transportation issues and tariffs,” Steinmetz said.

Suppliers of battery additives, including conductive materials, binders, coatings, adhesives, and flame retardants, said that most products that work for EV applications can work for ESS. “There are some differences, but we can serve both markets,” d’Ambrieres said.

“We have product grades that can be used in cathodes and anodes for EV or ESS,” Orion’s Steinmetz said. “So it’s one grade for all the different applications.”

Even automakers are getting into the ESS game. In July, General Motors Company (GM; Detroit) signed an MOU with tk Redwood Materials (tk) for using recycled EV battery backs for energy storage at a data center project in Nevada. GM and Redoowd “expect to announce more details on their plans later in 2025,” the companies said at the time.

Despite some uncertainty in the industry, GM is investing across the battery supply chain, said Kurt Kelty, vice president/batteries in a keynote at the Battery Show. “We are investing in cathode precursors, CAM, and raw materials…we want to bring this supply chain to the US,” he said.

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INEOS has announced today that it is cutting 20% of the workforce at its acetyls plant at Hull in the UK. 60 skilled jobs are being lost as a direct result of sky-high energy costs and anti-competitive trade practices, as importers ‘dump’ product into the UK and European markets, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Dirt-cheap carbon-heavy imports from China, produced using coal and emitting up to eight times more CO? than INEOS’s UK operations, are now flooding the market. These Chinese products have been blocked from entering the US by effective tariffs but face no trade barriers in the UK or Europe.

INEOS is calling on the UK Government and European Commission to introduce urgent anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese and US importers to protect the chemicals sector. The company warns that unless firm action is taken, more sites will close and thousands more jobs will be lost, not only at Hull but across the UK and European chemical industry.

David Brooks, CEO of INEOS Acetyls, said: “This is a very difficult time for everyone at the Hull facility. We have a leading-edge, efficient and well-invested site and the team here is highly skilled, professional, and dedicated. Making the decision to cut 60 roles was not taken lightly. We have explored every possible alternative but in the face of sustained pressure from energy costs, combined with unfairly low-cost imports into the UK and Europe, we’ve been left with no other choice. Our priority now is to support those affected and protect the long-term future of the site.”

This is not an isolated issue. It is part of the same structural crisis that is hitting chemicals companies across the UK and EU.

INEOS recently invested ?30 million at the Hull site to switch from natural gas to hydrogen, cutting emissions by 75%, the equivalent of taking 160,000 cars off the road. Despite this major step forward for industrial decarbonisation, the company now warns that without trade defence measures, (tariffs) progress will come at the cost of British jobs.

INEOS welcomes the UK Government’s recent U-turn on its decision to penalise the Hull site under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) but structural problems remain unresolved.

“This is a textbook case of the UK and Europe sleepwalking into deindustrialisation. INEOS has invested heavily at Hull to cut CO?, yet we’re being undercut by China and the US while left wide open by a complete absence of tariff protection. If governments don’t act now on energy, carbon and trade, we will keep losing factories, skills and jobs. And once these plants shut, they never come back.”

INEOS is the largest producer of acetic acid, acetic anhydride, and ethyl acetate in the UK and Europe. These chemicals are essential for everything from food preservation and pharmaceuticals, including aspirin and paracetamol, to diagnostic tests, adhesives, and industrial coatings. Without them, modern life doesn’t function.

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Global chemical company Huntsman, one of the leading providers of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomers, has expanded its distribution relationship with WOBATEK Kunststoffvertriebs GmbH, a specialist provider of engineering plastics for industrial applications in Central and Eastern Europe, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the terms of a new agreement, WOBATEK will now distribute Huntsman’s AVALON®, IROGRAN® and IROSTIC® TPU products in Austria and Poland, as well as Southern Germany, Czech Republic and Switzerland.

The new working arrangement underscores WOBATEK’s expertise in delivering innovative engineering thermoplastics for injection molding and niche technical applications. Founded in 2000, and headquartered in Sinzheim, near Baden-Baden, WOBATEK is a family-run business with strong regional connections and an established customer base across the continent.

Commenting, Michael Kolm, Sales Portfolio Manager, Specialty Elastomers – EAIME at Huntsman, said: “We’ve worked with the team at WOBATEK since 2009. Over that time, they’ve helped us build an incredibly strong customer base across Southern Germany, Czech Republic and Switzerland. We are excited to work with them in Poland and Austria – giving a broader range of companies, across these dynamic markets, access to our innovative portfolio of TPU technologies.”

Thomas Wolting, Managing Director at WOBATEK, said: “Extending our distribution network for Huntsman marks an important step forward for our business. Huntsman’s TPU products provide a benchmark in polymer engineering across a range of applications. They combine durability, flexibility, and sustainability, so customers can design lighter, stronger, and more efficient products. Broadening our collaboration with Huntsman reflects our ongoing commitment to innovation, customer success, and we look forward to now serving even more customers with advanced polyurethane solutions, that meet the highest standards of performance and reliability.”

Huntsman offers a wide range of TPU products for speciality elastomer and footwear applications. The company supplies products direct to customers and operates a broad distributor network – working with specialist providers in core geographic territories and market sectors where appropriate.

Huntsman’s AVALON® TPU products are engineered to deliver outstanding abrasion resistance, flexibility, and durability across demanding footwear and industrial applications.

IROGRAN® TPU is a versatile family of elastomers manufactured for injection molding, extrusion, hot?melt, and adhesive film applications. Delivering durability, flexibility, and resistance to wear and weathering, these systems are typically used in technical parts, films, footwear, apparel, and automotive applications.

IROSTIC® TPU is a line of adhesive-grade TPUs, optimized for both solvent-based and hot-melt applications. They are relied upon in footwear, textiles, and automotive bonding thanks to their strong adhesion, versatility and consistent performance.”

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Shell expects to report a $600-MM hit in the third quarter after abandoning its biofuels project in Rotterdam, bringing total impairments and provisions related to the venture to $1.4 B, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Shell had approved development of the 820,000-metric tpy biofuels plant in 2021, but paused construction last year and cancelled the project entirely in early September because it would not have been competitive (learn more).

The decision to exit the project is the latest in a series of steps by fossil fuel producers retreating from earlier pledges to expand cleaner energy.

In February, bp announced it would sharply reduce its investment in renewables, while Equinor said it was scaling back its renewable energy ambitions.

Shell raises LNG production outlook. Shell also signaled a stronger performance in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business, raising its third-quarter production outlook to between 7 MMt and 7.4 MMt, it said in a quarterly trading update.

The company had previously forecast LNG production of about 6.7 MMt–7.3 MMt, the oil major said in July, compared with 6.7 MMt in the second quarter.

It expects trading results to be significantly higher in its integrated gas division. Energy majors typically never divulge detailed results of their trading divisions saying that publishing such details would lessen their competitive advantage.

Shell also said it expects its indicative refining margin in the third quarter rising to $11.6 per barrel from $8.9 in the previous three months. Lower gas trading results and lower oil prices had weighed on Shell's second quarter net profit, which dropped by about a third.

Global benchmark Brent crude prices averaged around $68 a barrel during the July-to-September quarter, compared with $67 in the second quarter and $79 in the same period of last year.

Shell, which is seeking new partners or buyers for some of its chemicals assets, said its chemicals division is expected to record a loss in the quarter.

It also flagged a $200 MM to $400 MM hit from a decrease of its share of production from Brazil's Tupi fields to reflect updated reservoir data, which a Shell spokesperson said was normal course of business.

"We see this as a strong update from the company, with improvement in operational indicators across its two key upstream divisions, as well as better trading q-o-q despite weaker market conditions more broadly," according to analysts at RBC Capital Markets.

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Idemitsu Kosan, Japan's second-largest oil refiner, shut the 165,000 barrel-per-day crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Aichi refinery in central Japan on September 16 for planned maintenance, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The refiner declined to provide a timeline for the unit's restart.

Its smaller rival Cosmo Oil, a unit of Cosmo Energy Holdings, also shut the 100,000-bpd CDU at its Sakai refinery in western Japan on August 27 for scheduled maintenance, with operations expected to resume in October, a company spokesperson said.

Japan's largest refiner, Eneos Corp., a unit of Eneos Holdings, shut the 172,100-bpd No. 2 CDU at its Kawasaki refinery, near Tokyo, on August 16 for scheduled turnaround, according to a company spokesperson.

The company plans to restart the unit in late November.

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